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Mariners nearing trade for Marcell Ozuna?

The Seattle Mariners and Miami Marlins have been discussing a trade that revolves around Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna, according to many reputable baseball insiders.

Seattle’s best trade chip and the player that the Marlins would arguably most likely be after is starting pitcher Taijuan Walker. Although Seattle Mariners General Manager Jerry Dipoto would be very cautious sending one of the top young arms in baseball away, it could be the only piece that the Mariners posses to make a deal of this magnitude.

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that Taijuan Walker is not available in trade discussions…

Taijuan Walker not available, and James Paxton is a health risk. Would Roenis Elias or Nate Karns suffice for #Marlins?

The bottom line is that any baseball player is available for the right price. Miami has the major league talent to put a package together that would force Jerry Dipoto to pull the trigger on shipping Walker away.

Since his introductory press conference Dipoto has stated that one of his priorities was making the clubs outfielders more athletic. He’s already managed to trade for former Texas Ranger Leonys Martin and re-sign Franklin Gutierrez. Adding Ozuna in right field would drastically improve Seattle’s outfield defense over last years squad.

Fielding a Seth Smith/Gutierrez platoon in left field, Martin in center and Ozuna in right would then allow Nelson Cruz to switch to a more permanent role as the teams designated hitter.

With the rumors gaining steam on Tuesday evening, you should expect more to develop Wednesday throughout the day.